Victory Turns Out To Be W. Soccer’s Last

The Harvard women’s soccer team finally met its goal of coming out strong in what ultimately was its season finale.

Just five minutes into the game, junior back Caitlin Fisher sent a free kick sailing to junior co-captain Katie Hodel, who promptly kicked it to the left of Columbia goalkeeper Janine Ierardi, giving Harvard a lead it never relinquished just 5:04 into the game.

Fisher tallied another assist when sophomore Alisha Moran scored an insurance goal in the 64th minute of the game, as the Crimson (8-7-1, 4-2-1 Ivy) scored a 2-0 victory over the Lions (5-10-2, 0-5-2) on Ohiri Field.

With Yale’s loss to Brown to close out the season, Harvard finished third in the Ivies behind Dartmouth and Princeton.

The game was a must-win situation as Harvard needed a victory to stay over .500 and eligible for NCAAs.

“The game had high stakes for us,” said Harvard coach Tim Wheaton. “We just approached it like it was like an NCAA game—that we had to win or we weren’t going to continue playing.”

That the contest was the seniors’ last home game added further pressure to the situation. So while nerves were riding high, an emotional talk with the seniors the night before helped transform anxiety into fervor.

“I think people were a little nervous that it was their last game and we’d come out kind-of slow like the last couple games, so we just really wanted to focus on coming out strong,” Hodel said. “For some people, that little bit of extra nerves helped pick up their intensity a little bit.”

Before the game, the seniors were introduced onto the field and the junior players ran out to present them with flowers. For the five players facing their last home competition—Caitlin Butler, Beth Totman, Katie Urbanic, Bryce Weed and Joey Yenne—the game was a chance to determine the light in which they would view Harvard soccer for years to come.

“The game was really a way for us to set the tone for our season—so when we look back, we could say, ‘We won that last game. We went out and fought really hard,’” Urbanic said.

Fisher was absent for the last 16 minutes of the half, as she incurred a head injury and retired to the sideline for bandaging. When she came back in the second half, her efforts in pushing the ball up the left side of the field did not go unnoticed.

Fisher registered her second assist in the 64th minute, when she sent the ball up the left to Moran, who secured the win with her second goal of the season.

“For a defender to step up and grab two assists like that is awesome,” Wheaton said. “[Fisher is] just such a phenomenal athlete. And when she gets forward like that, it’s a threat that other teams have a difficult time dealing with. She had a tough day physically, but she just fought through—she’s such a trooper.”

Harvard’s success was aided by consistently excellent defense from the backs, junior Lauren Cozzolino and sophomore Liza Barber, as Columbia was limited to five shots, none of which came from the Lions’ leading scorer Courtney Naashorn.

Freshman Katie Shields began the game in goal and classmate Maja Agustsdottir switched in at the half, each collecting two saves apiece while Columbia’s Ierardi tallied seven.

Shields and Agustsdottir have split time in goal every game at which they have both been present, except in last weekend’s loss at Dartmouth. Given the cold weather and the tight situation, Harvard decided to stick with Shields in the second half.

“We don’t consider them a starter and a non-starter,” Wheaton said. “We have two goalies. They play evenly. We switch at halftime, regardless of the score. I think they’re two of the best goalkeepers in the conference.”

—Staff writer Jessica T. Lee can be reached at lee45@fas.harvard.edu.